The invention relates to a tuning device for use in tuning a musical instrument.
Both skilled and relatively unskilled musicians have long realized the importance of tuning the instruments for both individual and group performances. Many of the prior art tuning devices have relied considerably on the judgment of a person carrying out the tuning process. For these devices, a musical note is audibly produced and the person carrying out the tuning compares this reference note to a note produced by the musical instrument.
Some prior art tuning devices include complex mechanical moving parts and are awkward to use and inconvenient to transport. More recently, some highly sophisticated tuning devices have been introduced such as the device which is covered by U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,266. This patented device is basically an electronic means for producing an audible reference note.
The instant invention allows a signal representing a musical note to be compared electronically to a reference signal and the results of that comparison displayed.
In addition, the instant invention has the capability of having its reference notes aligned to musical notes produced by a musical instrument so that other musical instruments can be tuned to be harmonious therewith. This has use in the case of a group of musicians who want to tune their musical instruments such as guitars to be agreeable with a piano which might be somewhat out of tune.